Tenontosaurus
Tenontosaurus was an Ornithopod that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in North America. Information Plant life in the Tenontosaurus ecosystem was likely dominated by ferns and tree ferns, cycads, and possibly primitive flowering plants. Larger plants and trees were represented by gymnosperms, such as conifer and ginkgo trees. Tenontosaurus was a low browser, and an adult would have had a maximum browsing height of about 3 meters if it adopted a bipedal stance. This restricted Tenontosaurus, especially juveniles, to eating low-growing ferns and shrubs. Its powerful, U-shaped beak and the angled cutting surfaces of its teeth, however, meant it was not limited to which part of the plant it consumed. Leaves, wood, and even fruit may have formed part of its diet. Teeth and a number of skeletons belonging to the bird-like carnivorous theropod Deinonychus have often been discovered associated with Tenontosaurus tilletti remains. Tenontosaurus specimens have been found at over 50 sites, and 14 of those also contain Deinonychus remains. According to one 1995 study, only six sites containing Deinonychus fossils contain no trace of Tenontosaurus, and Deinonychus remains are only rarely found associated with other potential prey, like Sauropelta. In all, 20% of Tenontosaurus fossils are found in close proximity to Deinonychus, and several scientists have suggested that this implies Deinonychus was the major predator of Tenontosaurus. Adult Deinonychus, however, were much smaller than adult Tenontosaurus, and it is unlikely a single Deinonychus would have been capable of attacking a fully grown Tenontosaurus. While some scientists have suggested that Deinonychus must therefore have been a pack hunter, this view has been challenged based on both a supposed lack of evidence for coordinated hunting (rather than mobbing behavior as in most modern birds and reptiles, though crocodilians have been documented to hunt cooperatively on occasion) as well as evidence that Deinonychus may have been cannibalizing each other, as well as the Tenontosaurus, in a feeding frenzy. It is likely that Deinonychus favored juvenile Tenontosaurus, and that when Tenontosaurus reached a certain size, it passed out of range as a food source for the small theropods, though they may have scavenged larger individuals. The fact that most Tenontosaurus remains found with Deinonychus are half-grown individuals supports this view. It also lived in the same area as the large carnivorous dinosaur Acrocanthosaurus. Tenontosaurus was most interesting for its unusually long tail, which was suspended off the ground by a network of specialized tendons (hence this dinosaur's name, which is Greek for "tendon lizard") and took up more than half the total body length. This was quite possibly it’s only self-defense against predators. In the Cloverly Formation of Montana and Wyoming, Tenontosaurus remains are common in two distinct rock units: the more ancient Little Sheep Mudstone Member (Cloverly Formation unit V) and the more recent Himes Member (units VI and VII). The oldest part of the formation, the Pryor Conglomerate, contains no Tenontosaurus fossils, and they only appear in the uppermost, most recent part of the Little Sheep Mudstone Member. Catherine Forster, in a 1984 paper on the ecology of Tenontosaurus, used this as evidence to suggest that Tenontosaurus populations did not arrive in the Bighorn Basin area until the time of the late Little Sheep Mudstone Member. At the time Tenontosaurus first appeared in Wyoming and Montana (the early Albian age), the regions climate was arid to semi-arid, dry, with seasonal periods of rainfall and occasional droughts. However, during a period of a few million years, the climate in the region shifted to one of increased rainfall, and the environment became sub-tropical to tropical, with river deltas, flood plains, and forests with swampy inlets reminiscent of modern Louisiana, though marked dry seasons persisted to create savannah-like environments as well. The change in rainfall levels is likely due to the advancing shoreline of the Skull Creek Seaway, a cycle of the Western Interior Seaway which, later in the Cretaceous period, would completely divide North America. This dramatic shift in climate coincided with an apparent increase, rather than decrease, in the abundance of Tenontosaurus. This shows Tenontosaurus to have been a remarkably adaptable animal, which persisted for a long span of time in one area despite changes to its environment. In-Game Tenontosaurus will be in the early access of Prehistoric Kingdom. Gallery Cindy-raggo-tenontoooo.jpg TenontosaurusOntogeny.jpg|The ontogeny of Tenontosaurus Tenontosaurus_01_Preview.png|Nebula Tenontosaurus_02_Preview.png|Molten Tenontosaurus_03_Preview.png|Comet Tail Category:Ornithopod Category:Herbivore Category:Dinosaurs